-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- U.S soccer star Robbie Rogers has `` come out '' as gay on the day he retired from the game Friday .

The former Columbus Crew winger represented America on 18 occasions , including at the 2008 Beijing Olympics .

But Rogers , who was released from his deal by second-tier club Leeds United last summer before taking up a spot with third-tier Stevenage , revealed on his blog that he is homosexual and keen to seek a life away from football .

`` Secrets can cause so much internal damage , '' Rogers wrote on his blog .

`` People love to preach about honesty , how honesty is so plain and simple . Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay .

`` Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently .

`` I always thought I could hide this secret . Football was my escape , my purpose , my identity . Football hid my secret , gave me more joy than I could have ever imagined .

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`` I will always be thankful for my career . I will remember Beijing , The MLS Cup , and most of all my teammates . I will never forget the friends I have made a long the way and the friends that supported me once they knew my secret .

`` Now is my time to step away . It 's time to discover myself away from football . It 's 1 A.M. in London as I write this and I could not be happier with my decision .

`` Life is so full of amazing things . I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest .

`` Honesty is a b **** but makes life so simple and clear . My secret is gone , I am a free man , I can move on and live my life as my creator intended . ''

Rogers ' announcement has seen former teammates flock to show their support , with U.S. international defender Oguchi Onyewu , tweeting : `` Extremely proud of the courage from @robbierogers . Truth is not always easy to display , but truly strong people always find a way #RESPECT ''

U.S. midfielder Stuart Holden added on Twitter : `` Much love and respect to my boy @robbierogers ! Proud to be your friend bro . ''

Rogers ' retirement means there are still no openly gay players participating in professional football in Europe with the exception of Swedish-based Anton Hysen .

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It was hoped that Hysen 's coming out , which attracted headlines the world over in March 2011 , would pave the way for other gay footballers to take similar steps .

But not since the tragic loss of Justin Fashanu has a top-flight league witnessed an openly gay professional football player .

Fashanu , who committed suicide in 1998 , became the first # 1 million black player in the history of English football when he signed for Nottingham Forest in 1981 .

While at Forest , constant rumors and speculation surrounded his private life with concocted allegations of affairs with Conservative MPs .

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With the rumors continuing throughout his career , he finally came out in 1990 and continued to play for a whole host of lower league clubs .

`` You have to understand , '' he said in an interview before his death , `` that footballers are very narrow minded people . It 's the nature of the business . When you put yourself in the firing line , you are open to attack . I know I 'm there to be shot down in flames . ''

Following his passing , one particular group of fans would recite the chant : `` He 's gay , he 's dead , he 's hanging in a shed , Fashanu , Fashanu . ''

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While there has been huge progress since those dark days , the presence of homophobia in football has not been extinguished .

Only this week , police launched an investigation into allegations that a Blackburn Rovers footballer made homophobic gestures towards Brighton fans during an English second division match .

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Brighton , which is situated on the south coast , has a large gay population and its fans are often targeted with homophobic chants .

`` I think there 's a big culture shift needed within football from the grassroots to the top of the game , '' Louise Englefield of FootballvHomophobia told CNN

`` The top of the game is a symptom of a much wider issue about lack of awareness and ignorance around the ability of gay men to participate and excel at football

`` When you 've got a lack of gay players at the top level , then it 's easy for that environment to be quite negative .

`` I imagine there are players who are reticent to come out . ''

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While other sports have embraced their gay stars , such as John Amaechi in basketball , Martina Navratilova in tennis and Gareth Thomas in rugby , football has yet to move with the times .

Off the field , the UK Parliament backed a bill to legalize gay marriage earlier this month as society continues to move forward .

And while football has yet to move with the times , progress is being made .

Premier League and Football League clubs in the UK have created several initiatives to combat homophobia , working alongside charities such as HvF .

`` Within football , people do n't understand the seriousness of homophobia , '' added Englefield .

`` The things fans shout at players , they believe it 's not hurting them and they do n't care if they 're gay or not .

`` Homophobia is used to put players down and it 's a way of deriding players . That 's cultural all the way through football and happens in other sports .

`` When a player gives a pass away or falls over , fans use homophobia abuse to put them down and it 's that which we want to stop .

`` One of our key things is changing chanting in the stadium . Stop and think before you chant . ''

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A particular success story in England has been the creation of the GFSN Gay National League , where `` gay friendly '' teams compete on a regular basis .

Rogers ' story has been met with admiration from fellow gay football players , but his retirement from the game means that the community is still waiting for a player to come out and continue playing .

`` The great pity with Robbie is that he felt it was an ` either or choice , ' '' Scott Lawley , who plays for Nottingham Ball Bois in the GFSN Gay National League told CNN .

`` Reading his blog , it felt as if he thought he had no choice but to quit football if he wanted come out .

`` He could have easily retired without coming out but he 's been very brave and hopefully set us in the right direction .

`` He has n't forced us to the point where a gay man runs out in front of 30,000 people to play football

`` And the fact that no professional player has come out in recent years means there are still issues to deal with .

`` But we will come to that day when we do have openly gay players in the top divisions and we 're moving in the right direction . ''

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U.S. soccer player Robbie Rogers has `` come out '' as gay and retired from the game

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The 25-year-old had been playing in England with third-tier Stevenage until recently

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He wrote on his blog : `` Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay ''

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Former teammates give their support following announcement